Khaberni - The official spokesperson for the "Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters" in Iran accused the US military of cloning the Iranian drone "Shahed" and using it to conduct attacks inside regional countries in an attempt to blame Tehran and sow discord between it and neighboring countries.
The military spokesperson confirmed that Iran officially declares its responsibility for any strike it conducts and only targets US and Israeli interests, according to his statement.
The "Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters" stated that "the enemy has -after its military and political failure- resorted to cunning and deception by cloning the Iranian drone Shahed 136 and renaming it (Lucas), using it to target sites within regional countries."
About nine months ago, the US military announced the cloning of the Iranian drone "Shahed" by developing an offensive aircraft named "Lucas", which adopts the method of one-way kamikaze strike, and its technologies were cloned from the Iranian drone widely used by Russia in its war against Ukraine.
Less than eight months after its reveal in July 2025, the United States used the drone for the first time in combat operations on March 3, as part of the "Epic Wrath" operation executed in coordination with Israel against Iran on February 28.
"Suspicious operations"
The "Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters" statement added that the American military aims to "spread doubt and direct false accusations against the Islamic Republic of Iran and tarnish its legitimate defensive measures."
It stated that "the purpose of these suspicious operations is to create division between Iran and its neighbors and to plant seeds of discord," emphasizing that Tehran "openly bears responsibility for any strike it carries out and announces it through clear official statements."
It pointed out that the attacks targeting sites in "friendly and neighboring" countries in recent days are a "failed attempt to falsely attribute them to the Iranian armed forces."
Last Friday, the spokesperson for the "Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters" denied targeting Turkey, affirming that the Iranian armed forces had not launched any missile towards the "friendly and neighboring" state.
This came following the announcement by the spokesperson for NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) about intercepting an Iranian ballistic missile headed to Turkey, while on the same day, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced the neutralization by NATO air defenses deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean of ballistic ammunition fired from Iran and entered the Turkish airspace.
In a related incident last week, the spokesperson for the "Khatam al-Anbiya Headquarters" denied targeting the port of Salalah in the Sultanate of Oman, describing the Sultanate as a "friendly country" and stating that the operation was "highly suspicious," and that Iran is conducting an investigation regarding the targeting incident.
Since February 28, Gulf countries have been subject to Iranian attacks with missiles and drones as part of what Tehran says is a "military response to the US-Israeli attacks."
Iran states that it does not target specific countries, but rather American bases in the region, though these attacks have caused damage to civilian facilities in Gulf countries, including airports, ports, and various buildings, some residential.
The targeted Gulf states condemned these attacks on their territories, affirming their right to take all measures to respond to these targets.
